This weekend, the Tyne plays host to a host of crews from across the country as they compete at BUCS Head. It’s always a hotly contested event, particularly in the smaller boat classes. There’s plenty of rivalry here, with northern university programs going up against Scotland’s finest (with some southern flair from Imperial, Surrey and Exeter mixed in too.)
The coxless four category should be filled with quality entries, but for this preview I’ll focus on the programs that I believe will be the most competitive. At the end, I’ll make an overall prediction for the race.
Durham University BC
After a couple of great years, Durham have found themselves in a tricky position: six of last year’s 1st VIII have graduated. They’re still led by some strong, experienced athletes, including George Reed, who sat in the silver-medalling GB BM8+ at U23 Euros last year, and Fawley winner Charlie Warren, who was the third U23 at GB February Trials in the M1X. Durham have undeniably already seen a bit of a drop-off in performance relative to last year. At Rutherford Head they lost out to strong Newcastle and Edinburgh crews in the eight, and Durham’s top coxed four was well beaten by Newcastle in Division 2. After winning the Boat Race of the North over Newcastle two years in a row, these early-season losses will have stung. That being said, Durham have certainly built some solid foundations over the past couple of years, and I expect them to perform well here. This appears to be their top-ranked athletes, so I would expect winning to be the ambition. Coming out on top here would certainly be a massive boost for the Palatinate.
Edinburgh University BC
Edinburgh have had a strong season thus far. The 1st VIII was third at Rutherford Head behind Newcastle and Molesey, but were only six seconds back on the Blue Star. Despite their fours results from Division 2 being slightly off the pace, clearly Edinburgh have some good speed this year, with athletes like Ollie Holmes and Freddy Foxwell forming a strong top-end of the squad. If Edinburgh is stacking their coxless four, it should be a strong boat with a real shot at the podium, but I can’t see it getting past the likes of Newcastle – and Durham will also prove to be a difficult obstacle to overcome.
Imperial College BC
Imperial always bring polished crews to the table, finely coached by Peter Hardcastle, and generally are pretty good over long distance where the importance of technical ability is paramount. That being said, Imperial seem to be a fair way behind where they once were, and recent results at Quintin Head would suggest that the squad is well off the pace that they’d expect. At the Tideway head, both Imperial matched eights were beaten by both St Edward’s School matched eights, as well as four Thames RC eights. These results will have been difficult to take for a high-performance university program, but Imperial have undeniable pedigree, and I imagine they will have really put their foot on the gas after the disappointment at Quintin. This will be the first time that Imperial will have raced many of their BUCS rivals this season, so a strong performance here will be important.
Newcastle University BC
After a couple of years on the back foot – particularly relative to northern rivals Durham – Newcastle seem to be finding some momentum. With a strong contingent of top athletes, including Ben Brockway, who represented GB at U23 Europeans in the silver-winning BM8+, they have been attacking the season like they’ve got a point to prove. Thus far, they’ve done a pretty good job. While racing has been limited, results at Rutherford Head before Christmas were very positive for the Blue Star. Wins in both the Open Eight and the Open Coxed Fours put them out ahead of both Edinburgh and Durham, who will probably be their biggest opposition this weekend. Certainly Newcastle’s top end is probably the finest in this field, though with Brockway listed in the coxed four, this might be the bottom half of Newcastle’s top eight. That will make a showdown with Durham’s top four guys very interesting.
Other programs
There are a host of other entries here from smaller programs that will be keen to leave their mark on the competition. Glasgow University will be looking to deal a blow to longtime rivals from Edinburgh, and Exeter University will attempt to build on the strong results they’ve had thus far this season, culminating with a great performance from James Pollock at GB Trials a week ago. Liverpool University have been steadily improving year on year, and will be looking to gauge themselves against some of the country’s best. Finally, Nottingham and Surrey have both had some strong performances over the past couple of years; Surrey in particular are coming off a fantastic year having qualified for the Temple at Henley 2023.
Prediction
Despite Newcastle’s strength this year, I’m going to go with Durham for the win here – their top athletes will, I think, be good enough to win this outright. Newcastle for second, and Edinburgh in third.
Good luck to all crews.
Five Man
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